Two articles I suggest more for their content than their amazing style. Just made me think .... always good.
1. Teachers selling lesson plans to make money. Public school has mixed feelings about teachers making some extra cash. What do you think?
2. Lobbyists influence lawmakers and this time it's on official record. Eek. You would think in a time when all public record is reviewed and inspected, lawmakers would be a bit more original. Not so. What's your take on this situation? Especially since this involves the health care reform.
6 comments:
Jamie M.
Selling Lesson Plans:
I really feel that teachers should be allowed to sell their lesson plans online for a few reasons. First off, the lesson plans are the fruits of teachers' tireless labor, and after seeing how comprehensive some lesson plans are, I can understand why they hold monetary value. Second, each lesson plan is so unique and can have such a different approach that the plans themselves are forms of intellectual property. Third, this new commercial sector promotes competition. It's obvious that the most thorough and accurate lesson plans will be the biggest sellers; this promotes high quality materials and teachers will strive to outdo each other hoping for increased profits. This will translate into the classroom where enthusing lesson plans purchased from other teachers will hopefully promote retention of information and active engagement; both areas that could use some improvement.
Lesson Plans for Sale:
I think that teachers should certainly be allowed to sell their lesson plans. First, it is important for this sort of material to be passed around the teaching community.Teachers will purchase lessons, make their own personal adjustments, the quality of teaching will improve. This collaboration between teachers will ultimately benefit the students as well as the teachers. Secondly, teachers are notoriously underpaid. This is a way for them to make extra money for the work they are already doing. Overall, selling lesson plans leads to better teaching styles, and more money to a profession that deserves it more than many others.
I have mixed feeling about teachers selling lesson plans. On one hand, it is true that teachers deserve to be paid more than they do so if they can make money by doing their profession well, the more power to them. On the other hand, putting a price on lesson plans could slow down the exchange of ideas, as was mentioned in the article. the best solution would be to simply pay teachers more and ban the selling of lesson plans. However this is not very plausible in the current education system.
AMANDA
Selling Lesson Plans:
I find this to be a very difficult question. A part of me says-- yes, teachers should be entitled to sell there lesson plans. They had the idea and put the time into creating it, so therefor, they appear to be the rightful owner. In the midst of an economic crisis, I think selling lesson plans seems fair based on extreme budget cuts and low salaries yet, I do have a few problems with it.
I do think that selling lesson plans undermines the idea of unique and individualized educations. If we were all meant to learn the same things the same ways everyone would good to the same schools. I think it is important that there is a variety in the way that students learn things, otherwise, we will all end up quite the same.
I think it would be smart for public schools to buy the rights of lesson plans from teachers. That way teachers could still make extra money, yet, there ideas would remain in there school only.
Selling Lessons Online Raises Cash and Questions:
This article is incomplete because it lacks information about the United States copyright law relating to “Work For Hire.” In general, U.S. copyright law specifies that the author is the owner. The “Work For Hire” exception specifies that if someone is paid by a company to develop intellectual property, then that property belongs to the company. (Source: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ09.pdf)
To be a “Work for Hire,” the following conditions must all be met: (1) the work must be specially ordered or commissioned, (2) the work must fall under one of nine categories, of which lesson plans would appear to be included, and (3) there must be a written agreement between the parties specifying that the work is a “Work for Hire.” (Source: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ09.pdf)
In the case of teachers selling lesson plans, it is unclear whether the first condition is met. Schools are employing the teachers to teach; they are not commissioning a specific lesson plan (in the teacher contract, naming exactly how they want a curriculum to be taught). It is unlikely that there is a written agreement between the school and the teachers specifying that the work is a “Work For Hire” because schools have no reason to make such an agreement. There is not competition for profit between schools like there is between businesses. It appears that teachers have a legal right to sell their lesson plans unless they have signed a specific agreement that says that they cannot.
Although there is no specific teacher exemption to “Work for Hire,” traditionally, in education, the practice is to act on the assumption that teachers do not work for hire because schools are not in the business of selling lesson plans.
Teachers are not hurting the schools by selling their lesson plans. In fact, it may even help because teachers may be encouraged to share their ideas. In addition, with pay cuts owing to the economic crisis, teachers need the extra money now more than ever.
Selling Lesson Plans:
I feel that if a teacher comes up with heir very only lesson plans they should be allowed to sell their lesson plans.This would help teachers raise more money, for whatever reason they choose to. I do not think that what the teachers spend the money on should be an issue. It is their own money and should have the freedom to do with it what they want. Teachers also think that this will help them receive credit for their plans.
While I think that the teachers should be allowed to sell their plans, it may not be the most ideal thing to do. I feel that eventually these lesson plans will be put on another website which allows users to download these lessons for free. Just like music, there will probably be someway to illegally download it for free. Also, teachers could steal others' lesson plans and then sell them with minor changes.This will eliminate the factor of teachers trying to receive credit and recognition for their work.
One of the main disadvantages for selling lesson plans, is that teachers could get lazy. Since they can just buy a lesson plan for the day, they may repress their own creative ideas and leave it in the hands of other teachers who sell their ideas.
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